Job Offer Text Scams: WhatsApp Recruiters and Task Jobs
An unsolicited text or WhatsApp message offering easy remote work, such as liking videos or rating products for commission, is almost always a task scam. The Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre lists a job you never applied for and any upfront deposit or fee as warning signs. Check the recruiter's email domain and phone before you reply.
The unsolicited job message
These messages arrive out of nowhere. A “recruiter” texts or writes on WhatsApp to say your profile was selected for flexible remote work. The pay is high for very little effort. The company name may be real: the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre has warned that fraudsters use the names of real companies in Canada to make the offer look legitimate.
The CAFC says fraudsters contact people by text message, WhatsApp, email or Messenger, often after they have shared a resume and contact information online. The next step is to install an app or create an account on a website, where the “work” happens.
Why am I getting job offers on WhatsApp that I never applied for?
Because scammers send the same offer to large numbers of people at once, including people who posted a resume online. Getting one does not mean a real company reviewed your application. The CAFC lists receiving a job offer you did not apply for as a warning sign of job fraud.
How task scams take your money
The “job” is a set of simple tasks inside an app or website: liking videos, rating product images or “boosting” apps. Each task appears to earn a commission, and the balance on screen goes up.
The FTC has described what happens next. At some point you are told you must make a deposit to complete the next set of tasks or to get your earnings out of the app. You “charge up” the account, believing you will get it back with your commission. Then a new, bigger payment is needed, for example to unlock higher commissions or move up a level. The balance keeps growing on screen, but none of it can be withdrawn.
The numbers show how fast this spread. The FTC reported that about 20,000 people in the US reported task scams in the first half of 2024, compared with about 5,000 in all of 2023. Reported losses to job scams topped $220 million in that half year, and cryptocurrency losses alone were about $41 million.
Is a job that pays you to like videos or rate products real?
No legitimate employer pays you to like videos or rate products in an app and then asks you to deposit money to keep working. The CAFC’s advice is direct: never send deposits or pay fees for a job. If a job requires an upfront deposit, an upgrade fee or an unlock payment, it is a scam.
How to check the recruiter
Before you reply, check who is really writing. A real recruiter works for a real company with a real domain, and a few minutes of checking usually settles it.
The email domain. The CAFC lists a company that uses a web-based email instead of an official business domain as a warning sign. Compare the domain after the @ with the company’s own website. A large employer recruiting from a free mailbox, or from a lookalike such as careers-acme-hr.example, does not fit.
The domain’s age. A domain’s registration date is public. A company that claims decades of history should not have a website registered last month.
The phone number. Look at the carrier and line type, and whether other people have reported it. A “head office” that only exists as a mobile or VoIP number, with no website, is a mismatch.
The company itself. Find the company’s website through a search engine, not through the link in the message, and call the number listed there to ask whether the offer is real.
TrustOrNah’s lead check runs these checks together: paste the company name, website, recruiter’s email and phone, and it returns Trust, Caution or Nah with the reasons, including a match against 1,571,855 federal corporations from Corporations Canada. Many real employers are provincial corporations, so no match is not proof of fraud. Our guide on verifying a business lead explains each signal.
What to do now
- Do not reply to job offers you never applied for, and never move the conversation to WhatsApp or Telegram for a stranger.
- Never pay a deposit, fee or “unlock” payment to start or keep a job.
- Check the recruiter’s email domain and phone before sharing your ID, SIN or bank details.
- If you paid, call your bank and report it to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre at 1-888-495-8501.